What's Lurking in Our Food? BPA 101

BPA aka Bisphenol A has re-appeared in the media due to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Harvard researchers found significant levels of BPA in participants who consumed canned soups over freshly prepared soups.  Some of you may recall the previous uproar about BPA and its use in the production of plastic baby bottles and other infant products.  Unfortunately, this chemical is still used throughout a majority of the U.S. despite pressure from the American Medical Association. Eleven U.S. states have taken heed to these warnings by banning (or are in the process of banning) the use of BPA in infant feeding containers.  Earlier this summer China banned the chemical from baby bottles, joining Canada, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates.

But why should we be concerned?

BMI: Body Mass Index

So, the doctor tells my cousin that he needs to lose 110 lbs to get within the “normal” BMI range and that his blood cholesterol levels put him at risk for a heart attack.   Encouraging, isn’t it?  My biggest pet peeve is the bed side manner of physicians who spend very little time with their patients.  More likely than not, not enough time is spent discussing the importance of diet, physical activity, and lifestyle factors that influence body weight.  In addition to this discouraging approach, doctors often use the BMI scale, which is inherently a faulty indicator of health.

Setting the Record Straight-Danish Salt Study

SCIENCE GEEK ALERT: this blog entry is in response to a recent study about salt intake that has gotten a lot of press lately. CBS news’ headline read “Cutting back salt may be worse for heart health: study” and Fox news reported “STUDY: cutting back on salt bad for your health.”  This type of faulty reporting is NOT what the American population needs right now, as we are plagued with rising rates of hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Hence, I must set the record straight for people who read those headlines and use them as rationale for not cutting back on their salt intake.